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Johannesburg - Gauteng police are hunting for the remaining members of a gang involved in a dramatic shoot-out at Bedford Centre in Bedfordview on Thursday, according to reports.
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Netwerk24 reported on Friday that at least 30 robbers were involved in the cash-in-transit heist at the mall on Thursday morning.
Security guards collecting cash from a bank in the centre were confronted by the gang, which took an undisclosed amount of money.
A shoot-out ensued, with seven people being injured, including two robbers.
Netwerk24 reported that one of the injured suspects could be one of the country's most notorious cash-in-transit robbers.
The robber's left shinbone was reportedly hit during the shoot-out. He left a long trail of blood as he crawled down the centre's escalators to the basement, where he apparently tried to hijack a 75-year-old man's car, according to the report. He is under police guard in hospital.
The gang was well-organised and took positions above the guards during the ambush, but the guards fought back, sending them fleeing. AK47 rounds littered the floor.
National Gun Owners Association chairperson John Welch told Netwerk24 the sophisticated rounds of ammunition, which can apparently penetrate bullet-proof vests, cannot be sold to private rifle owners and may have been smuggled in from neighbouring countries, or stolen from an army store.
According to Eyewitness News, employees of the centre fear returning to work after the brazen heist. The gang had reportedly planned the heist while sitting at the Wimpy in the centre.
